Cable-threading head.



F. s. WOODWARD. CABLE THREADING HEAD.

APPLIGATI'ON FILED MAY 24, 1905.

Patented July 27, 1909 /n ventor WIT/messes:

Weder/c/f' SWoodward, y WAQM UNITED STATES PATENT orrrcnl FREDERICK S. WOODWARD, OF BROOKLYN, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR TO GENERAL ELECTRIC COMPANY, A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

csiaLn-rnnnanme HEAD.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed May 24, 1905.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, FREDERICK S. Wool)- WARD, a citizen of the United States, residing at Brooklyn, county of Kings, State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Cable-Threading Heads, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to a head or clip for attachment to the end of a cable to facilitate drawing the cable into a conduit.

The object of the invention is to provide a cable-threading head of simple construction, amply strong enough to withstand the strain to which it is subjected, which may be quickly attached to a conductor making a strong joint therewith and with which the entrance of moisture into the end. of the cable While the latter is being drawn through the conduit is effectually prevented.

In my improved cable-threading head, I provide means for attaching the head to the conductor or conductors of the cable so that the pull is transmitted to them direct instead of through the lead sheath or other parts as has been done heretofore and in order to exclude moisture from the end of the cable I provide a depending flange on the head which cooperates with the lead sheath preferably by fitting tightly inside the same to seal the end of the cable.

The novel features of my invention will be definitely indicated in the claims appended hereto.

The details of construction and the method of using my improved cable-threading head will be better understood by reference to the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings in which Figure 1 is a perspective view of the head; Fig. 2 is a similar View with the locking block in position; Fig. 3'is a section of the head applied to a cable; Fig. 4 is a section on line 4 4 of Fig. 3; ing block.

Referring to the drawings, the head or clip consists of a heavy casting of iron or other suitable material having a base 1 to Which the cable is attached and a looped portion 2 which receives the hooks on the end of the drawing-in rope. In the base are a number of openings as indicated at 3, equal to the number of conductors on the cable and so positioned. that they center with the conductors of the cable. At the bottom these and Fig. 5 is a top view of the lock openings are circular and of about the same size as the conductors, but they increase in size from the bottom up. Preferably the increase in tile size of the openings is all on one side of an axis perpendicular to the base. in the head illustrated in the drawings the increase in the size of the openings 3 is ail on the side toward the center of the base. On the bottom of the base 1 is a circular pending flange 5 of such size that the le.. 1 sheath of the cable fits tightly thereon.

W hen the head is to be attached to a cable the conductors 6 of the cable are bared of insulation for a short distance back from their ends and threaded through the openings 3 in the base 1. The insulation is preferably cut off square and therefore fits tightly against the bottom of the base with.- out forming any air spaces between them. One layer 7 of the insulation, preferably the outer one, is cut away farther so as to form a circular groove in the end of the cable into which the flange 5 extends. The lead sheath 8 of the cable fits tightly around the flange 5 and solder may be introduced at the end of the sheath to fill all openings between it and the head in order to seal the end of the cable against th entrance of in oisture. The conductors r") are then bent toward each other so that they lie along the slanting sides of the openings 3. /Vedges 9 are then insorted in the spaces between the straight sides of the openings 3 and the conductors 6. These wedges may be of solid metal and may be driven in by a hammer, but I prefer to malre them by dropping molten solder into this space and allowing the solder to harden, for the reasonthat the solder fills the entire space between the conductors and the walls of the openings 3 and not only holds the conductors better but also prevents the entrance of moisture into the end of the cable.

In cases where the lengtn. of the conduit and the weight of the cableare such that a great tension is necessary to pull the cable through, I employ a locking block 10 to obtain a stronger hold on the conductors. This block is of rectangular form and fits in between the arms of the looped portion 2. Openings 11 extend through the block similar to the openings 3 in the base 1 except that at the bottom they are closer together so as to center with theconductors 6 where they emerge from the openings 3 in the base 1 and the increase in the size of the openings 11 is in the opposite direction laterally from that of openings 3, namely, away from the center of the block. In using the locking block the conductors are threaded through the openings 11 and the block is seated upon the top of the base 1. The conductors 6 are bent in the opposite direction above the base 1 so that in the openings 11. the conductors 6 also he along the slanting sides of the openings, and wedges 12 are inserted in the openings similar to wedges 9 in the open.- ings 3. A joint is thus made between the leads and the cable o'l double the strength ol that obtained when the locking block is not used. The arrangement of the holes in the base and in the locking block is such that two angles are made in the conductors which with the solder wedges hold the corn doctors fast and make it practically impossible for the conductors to slip through and release the been from the it will thus be seen that with my improved cable-threading ead the head is attached to the conductor or conductors of the cable so that the pull is transmitted to the con ductors direct and not through the lead sheath and the insulation of the cable. Also that the end of the cable is effectually closed against the entrance of moisture so that the insulation of the conductors is not weakened at the end or the cable. Furthermore, there is very little waste as only a very short length of the insulation need be removed for attaching the head to the cable.

The head shown in the drawings is for a three conductor cable but heads for cables having a greater or less number of conduetors can be similarly constructed by merely changing the number 0? openings in the base l and. the block 10.

I do not wish to be understood as limited to the precise construction which I have illustrated and described herein as various modifications can be in ade therein such for instance varying the construction and arrangement of the wedges; such modifications it consider Within the scope of my invention and I aim to cover them in the claims appended hereto.

What I claim as nw and desire to secure by Letters Batent ol' the United States, is:

1 A cable threading head for a rnulti-conduetor cable having a plurality of tapered openings, and means for securing each individual conductor in an opening at an angle with the cable.

2. A cable threading head comprising two cooperating parts, each having a plurality of perforations therein, one for each conductor of the cable, the corresponding openings in the parts being out of alinement.

3. A cable-threading head for multi-conduetor cables having tapering openings therein equal to the number of conductors, and means for securing a conductor to each of said openings so that the engaged portions are bent at dillerent angles with the cable.

4. A cable threading head for a multi-conduetor cable having a plurality of tapered openings, and means for wedging the individual conductors in said openings and sealing the same.

5. A cable threading head for a multi-conduetor cable having plurality el' tapered openings, one for each conductor, and means for securing a conductor in each of said openings and sealing the same.

6. A cable threading head for a multi-conduetor cable having a plurality of tapered openings, one for each conductor, and means {or wedging conductor in each oi said openings and sealing the same.

7. A cable-threading head for a multi-conduetor cable having a number of tapering openings therein equal to the number of conductors, a flange at one end to cooperate with the sheath of the cable, and a portion at the other end formed to facilitate attaching to the drawing-in device.

8. A cable-threading head for a multi-conduetor cable comprising two cooperating parts each having a number of tapering openings therein corresponding to the number of conductors, and a flange on one of said parts for engaging with the sheath of the cable.

9. Aconduit-threading device consisting of a perforated grip head containing grip plates with perforations tor the conductor out of alinement with the perforations in the head whereby a conductor end of bent or irregular shape may be locked in position.

In Witn ess whereof I have hereunto set my hand this seventeenth day of May, 1905.

H. M. SPERRY, GEO. N. SNYDER. 

